搜尋偏愛之容許性探討－－言論自由與競爭法之交錯

The Study on The Admissibility of Search Bias: Interaction between free speech and Competition Law

在今天的網路世紀，最重要之角色並非生產者或是程式設計者，而是平台，其等提供者為使用人得以操作的環境，消費者得以互動、互聯、娛樂的立基點，這當中，搜尋引擎展露頭角成為資訊經濟之主之主要來源，搜尋引擎所決定蒐集呈現之資料自有無與倫比之關鍵社會意涵，搜尋引擎藉由確認、組織及展現已回應使用人之查詢，而產生碩大之價值。然搜尋之核心即為被公認市場優勢者－－Google，Google之競爭者群起指搜尋偏愛，要求反托拉斯執法機關應該確保搜尋中立，Googla在美國及歐盟支配線上收尋確實引起反托拉斯之檢驗，或許最佳之搜尋引擎應該有如上帝之心，能透徹明瞭使用人之需求，又能不偏不倚地提供搜尋結果，恐怕搜尋中亦不必然即存在於現實世界，不過，搜尋中立榮獲不可行，但為非實務上支配搜尋引擎之現象毫無適用競爭法規範之空間，搜尋偏愛是否完全容許尚值得觀察。

In today's Internet, the most important players are not manufactures, programmers, but platforms. All of them offer an environment in which users operate, a starting point for them to interact, network, and be entertained. Search engines have emerged as a major force in our information economy. Search engines have significant power to shape searcher behavior and perceptions. Search engines produce immense value by identifying, organizing, and presenting the Internet's information in response user's queries. Questions about search engines bias have percolated in the academic literature for over a decade. At the center of this maelstrom is Google, the dominant market player. Google's competitors have complained about “search bias”, and demand that antitrust enforcers should ensure “search neutrality”. Google's domination of online search in Europe and the United States surely has attracted antitrust scrutiny. Maybe the perfect search engine should be like the mind of God. But what if God did not exist, the same with search neutrality. But search neutrality might be not practical, this is not to suggest that a dominant search engine's search practices can never give rise to an antitrust violation. The admissibility of search bias deserved paying attention.